


Sentiment

by KathyAgel



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 19:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17535170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KathyAgel/pseuds/KathyAgel
Summary: Originally published under the pseud Susie Warren in the multifandom fanzine Remote Control Issue 14





	Sentiment

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published under the pseud Susie Warren in the multifandom fanzine Remote Control Issue 14

_Friendship is the comfort of knowing_  
_There is always a shoulder to lean on_  
_A hand to reach out for_  
_And a heart to welcome me home_

No, I didn’t write it. It’s the text on a silly little plaque Daniel gave Carter for her last birthday. It’s maybe ten inches by six, the words surrounded by flowers and bunnies – you know, cutesy stuff. The kind of thing you find in a card shop at the mall, surrounded by candles and stuffed animals.  


She loved it. She said it was cute. I even saw her wipe a tear - maybe two - away as she read it. Danny was thrilled and uncomfortable with her reaction at the same time – I mean, really, what man wants to see a woman cry? — and I even saw Teal’c give a little smile. She left her living room, where we were watching her open her presents, and nailed it up in the kitchen right away, beside the phone and right near the coffeemaker. Well, of course we followed her. Danny-boy smiled when he saw where she put it. I swear, that boy has coffee in his veins instead of blood.  


The text on the plaque stayed in my head after we all went home. Yeah, it’s sentimental. It’s not something I’d ever have thought of giving her. Nope. Not me. I gave her a new Walkman and a few CDs. But it’s just Daniel’s style. Trust him to cut to the chase every time.  


But did he know how closely it mirrored my own thoughts when he bought it? I doubt it – I don’t broadcast them that clearly. It’s the way I feel about my team, all right. Trust Daniel to get into my head without even knowing he did. Don’t know how he does it – and I’m not sure I ever want to.  


_A shoulder to lean on._ That’s a good way to describe Teal’c. Mister Stoic, always there to shoulder his share of the load – and then some. He’s always there, watching our backs. He takes some of that responsibility off my shoulders – and anything to lighten the load helps. Hell, he’s carried each of us home through the Gate more than once, and he never complains. He could – he’s got plenty of reasons to. He’s given up an awful lot for us – position, family, religion, home. But there he is, day after day, doing what’s needed.  


_A hand to reach out for._ That’s Daniel. Whoever would have thought that a nearsighted, brilliant, geeky, uncoordinated archaeologist with allergies would become my best friend? Not me. Certainly not me. Diametric opposites – that’s us. He’ll talk your ear off, if you let him – and once in a while I do, just to keep him happy. He’s got heart, though, our Daniel. He never gives up. That can be good, and it can be bad – depending on the situation. Over the past couple of years, he’s given me enough ulcers for two lifetimes. Maybe for three.  


_And a heart to welcome me home._ Yeah, that can only be Carter – though I can’t admit it, even to her. Not verbally, anyway. Hell, I had a hard enough time admitting it to myself.  


I care about her – way more than I should. But it’s against regs. It’s too dangerous. Not to me – I could give a crap about what happens to me. I'll just retire - again. But to Sam? No.  


I think I started to care about her when she challenged me to arm wrestle when we first met. Well, maybe ‘care’ is too strong a word for what I felt for her at that point. I liked her – I liked her spunk, the way she stood up for herself when she needed to. I liked her brains, and the way she wasn’t afraid to show she had them. I liked her practicality and initiative – that line of claymores was an inspired touch. I liked her courage – here was a team member who’d give as much for me as I would for her.  


My feelings for her grew as we got to know each other better. It was inevitable. Being around her every day, seeing her, realizing the kind of woman she is, facing countless life-or-death situations together – how could I not fall in love with her?  


I didn’t have a chance. Oh, I hid it. I didn’t have a choice. Besides being against regs, I had no idea whether Carter felt the same for me as I did for her. Oh, I thought I saw a glimmer every now and then, but I shrugged it off. Why would she be interested in a beat-up old wardog like me? A loser – hell, I couldn’t even hold on to my wife.  


But I wasn’t completely sure how I felt about her until we were trapped in Apophis’ new ship–battleship, starship, star destroyer, death star — whatever. It was one honkin’ big mother that was nearly the end for us both. I wouldn’t leave her there behind the force shield – I couldn’t. It would have been like cutting my heart out. What I saw in her eyes when we thought we were going to die…. Well, let’s just say she saw the same in mine.  


Instead of being an ending, it was a beginning, of sorts. She knows I know, and I know she knows.  


Where will it take us? Neither of us knows that. We’re doing our best to ignore it. Keeping it in the room, as she so euphemistically put it.  


What happens when we can’t? Your guess is as good as mine. But until then, we’ll just go along, living the motto on Sam’s plaque.  


Even if I’m the only one who knows what it all really means.  



End file.
